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As one of Europe’s market leaders in zinc roofing, cladding and rainwater systems, VMZINC’s CPD presentation 'Zinc as a building envelope' examines the metal’s use in construction today. It discusses the flexibility and durability of zinc as well as specific factors such as corrosion, ventilation, expansion/contraction, recycling and the environment.

As a non-ferrous metal, zinc is naturally self-protecting. If supplied in its natural finish, it gradually forms an attractive light grey patina which requires little or no maintenance. It offers durability, long-term cost-effectiveness and malleability and is therefore ideal for shaping and complex detailing.

The choice of systems and 5 visually distinctive, pre-weathered colours has enabled VMZINC to develop an identity for the metal which suits diverse architectural styles. Whether used for new build, refurbishment or to extend, rolled zinc is now widely used to complement a variety of building materials. The pre-weathered colours mellow gradually and buildings therefore retain the appearance for which the material was specified.

Using VM ZINC PLUS which has a coating applied to protect the material's underside from corrosion, it is now possible to install zinc in warm roof applications where the zinc and support are not ventilated.

Compared with other metals, very little energy is needed to manufacture zinc metal from ore – less than half that consumed for copper and stainless steel and a quarter that used for aluminium. Zinc’s typical lifespan can exceed 100 years and as an example, the recently redeveloped Brighton railway station had a VMZINC roof which was over a century old removed, recycled and new material supplied.

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Contemporary ‘City’ wall brackets from Chelsom have been used in the newly launched four star Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool. Housed in the magnificent Grade II listed ‘Central Buildings’ which date back to 1884, the ‘Beatles hotel’ boasts 110 rooms and two executive penthouse suites.

The ‘City’ fittings are manufactured from anthracite stove-lacquered steel and for this project were teamed with black oblong cotton shades.

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A-Gas (UK) Limited has gone live with a dedicated website to help businesses gain further insight and help with the Virgin HCFC use ban.

Despite all the publicity and warnings there are still end-users who are unaware that they may be storing illegal refrigerants. A-Gas’ aim is to help ensure that businesses have easy access and can check out for themselves what options are available.

By logging onto www.hcfcphaseout.com end-users, distributors, contractors, installers or service engineers are provided with a useful tool that provides accessible, up to date information, advice and options to help them manage their installations.

“Our dedicated website provides easy to follow advice and customers can contact A-Gas for further information and technical support,” comments Ken Logan, Managing Director, A-Gas (UK) Limited.

“Many businesses may not realise that the phase-out can bring new opportunities for business and presents a number of opportunities including switching to energy efficient systems with the help of a government-backed loan or taking advantage of more environmentally friendly refrigerants that could also improve energy efficiencies and running costs,” adds Ken.

A-Gas is also offering a reclaimed HCFCs service to ease users through the next stage of the phase out, when HCFCs will be banned in 2015. Reclaimed HCFCs are recovered HCFC gases that have been chemically reprocessed to a specified standard. To identify genuine A-Gas reclaimed the cylinders will have a green shrink wrap as opposed to the magenta wrap and A-Gas’ own cylinder tracking system will be able to identify material and the original batch.

Whatever the application, A-Gas offers unbiased advice; support and help users find the right solution for their requirements.

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According to the Energy Saving Trust’s Chief Executive Philip Sellwood, almost a third of new homes are still failing to meet energy efficiency guidelines. He told the BBC “… the Government's 'Code for Sustainable Homes' is not being adequately enforced, giving cause for real concern. Our building regulations in the UK are among the toughest in Europe, but they are extremely poorly enforced as far as energy efficiency goes”.

David Arendell, MD of roofing specialist Klober feels the situation in respect of building airtightness gives grounds for even greater concern. He commented, “Despite the fact that the phrase 'Build tight, ventilate right' has become synonymous with the strategy to construct low energy buildings, awareness of how best to achieve airtight construction remains poor. Failing to achieve the right balance between airtightness and controlled ventilation increases the risk of condensation within the roof space. With every upgrade in insulation standards, the risk increases”.

Delays in consultation on Approved Documents L and G have prompted deferment in CSH 2010 until the end of the year. Some house builders have lobbied for a clearer definition of how 'zero carbon' can be achieved, prompting establishment of the Zero Carbon Task Group. There is some evidence to support calls for redefinition as research carried out by the Richard Hodkinson Consultancy, for example, showed that 'PassivHaus' (the Europe-wide Standard with stringent airtightness requirements managed by the BRE and the Energy Saving Trust) would not actually meet even CSH 3. CSH assessment uses the SAP test to calculate energy performance, and for some time there the efficacy of the test, particularly in relation to more thermally efficient buildings, has been questioned.

The requirement already exists for new public sector housing to meet CSH 3 and the impetus towards 'zero carbon' will be given fresh impetus when the equivalent of CSH 3 is incorporated into Building Regulations for England and Wales (similar improvements are planned in Scotland).

Of the nine categories within the CSH method of assessment, 'energy and CO2 emissions' is by far the most significant. This is true in terms of allocation of credits, for which 29 are available, and the final points allocation, 36.4% of total available performance once weighting factors have been taken into account.

The right balance between airtightness and ventilation can be struck without significant addition to building costs. Material choice, however, can greatly influence long-term airtightness. Sheet membrane air barriers coupled with sealants, for example, are more effective than sealants alone, counteracting the effects of buildings (particularly timber frame) drying out. Accredited Construction Details (ACDs), Enhanced Construction details (ECDs) and, in Scotland, the Scottish Ecological Design Association Guide are now available for both warm and cold roof construction. Accredited detail Sheet MCI RE 02, for example, shows a warm roof detail at the eaves using Klober Permo forte vapour permeable underlay and either appropriate tapes or a pre-taped product.

Despite the absence of any CSH equivalent for non-residential construction, airtightness can be important in relation to use of roofing materials such as zinc (if the metal’s underside is unventilated). Abergwynfi primary school near Neath was designed to achieve a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating, with zinc used on a series of circular classroom roofs. Klober Wallint air barrier was installed with compatible sealing tape to meet the specified airtightness.

With current Building Regulation requirements stipulating airtightness of only 7m3/hr per m2 compared with CSH 3 at 3m3, techniques used to achieve it must undoubtedly change. 'The Code for Sustainable Homes and airtightness in roofs' CPD presentation from Klober examines how to 'build tight and ventilate right' within the realms of practical pitched roofing construction. It is a welcome source of information on a subject for which little is otherwise available. For more information go to www.klober.co.uk/airtightness.

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The eagerly awaited Chelsom lighting catalogue, Edition 21, is now available. As usual over 60% of product is brand new, created especially for the worldwide hospitality marketplace.

Featuring unique lighting creations, inspired by international trends, Edition 21 will keep the Chelsom name at the forefront of hospitality lighting design.

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JS Air Curtains has supplied eight air curtains to the Welcome Break motorway services at Membury on the M4. The air curtains are helping to maintain internal temperatures even with the external doors in constant use.

The air curtains were installed by Russell Air Conditioning. Five 2m Windbox air curtains and three HeatScreen air curtains are positioned at the front entrance, rear entrance and on some internal doorways.

Ray Drinkwater, Facilities Manager at Membury Services, commented, “Without the air curtains the doors acted like a wind tunnel with the cold air blowing right through. The air curtains from JS were recommended by Russell Air Conditioning and have done a great job in stopping the cold air entering.”

In total the air curtains are capable of providing over 21,000m3/h of airflow to seal the doorways. As well as keeping the heat in during the winter, they can also be used with the heaters off in the summer to prevent air conditioned air from escaping.

The Windbox air curtain has a powerful output and can be used on doorways up to 3.5m high. It can be horizontally mounted above a doorway or vertically to the side. The units supplied to Welcome Break were white but the Windbox is available in any RAL colour to suit interior architecture. The air curtain can incorporate electric or low pressure hot water heating and is controlled from either a five-speed wall mounted controller, supplied with 20m of plug and play RJ45 cable, or via a BMS system.

The other model used at Welcome Break was the HeatScreen air curtain. This is an economical air curtain with a maximum output of 1,670m3/h. It can be controlled either with the panel on the front of the unit or via a handheld remote control. It is available in lengths of 90cm, 120cm and 150cm, comes with two metres of electrical lead and can be wired to a single phase power supply.

JS Air Curtains supplies an extensive range of air curtains, as well as bespoke solutions, for all commercial and industrial applications. JS’ in-house project management division also provides a smooth, hassle-free installation service that walks the customer through from design specification to post-installed product training.

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The proposed Channel 4 building was to be an award winning design with unique architectural features. Integrity of the electrical supply was paramount, as any loss of transmission would incur incredible loss of revenue from advertisers.

In the early design stage of the project Terasaki worked very closely with the consultant to assist in the selection of devices. Terasaki offered to conduct initial fault level and selectivity studies to verify that the proposed devices would fulfil the definition of protection: “”to guard, to defend, to keep safe””.

The consultant then recommended that all electrical equipment suppliers should use Terasaki protection components. Rolla would install TemPower ACBs, TemTrip Protection Relays and TemBreak MCCBs in their Switchboards. Anton Pillar would equip the UPS panels with TemPower ACBs, TemTrip Protection Relays and TemBreak MCCBs. Dale Electric would distribute the generator supply from TemPower ACBs and TemTrip relays. Barduct busbar trunking tap off units would be equipped with TemBreak MCCBs, “”T. Clarke”” as the electrical contractors would install TemWay distribution equipment.

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Mitsubishi Electric has launched three new air conditioning interfaces to cement its position as the manufacturer with the most compatible and comprehensive control product-line up currently available.

“Everyone is aware of the need to save energy and the simplest way is through better control of your heating, cooling and ventilation systems,” explained Sebastien Desmottes, Product Marketing Liaison Manager at Mitsubishi Electric.

“This will not only help reduce emissions by minimising energy use but can also significantly reduce energy bills,” added Desmottes. “With these new interfaces we have increased performance and lowered prices to offer greater control options to more applications.”

The new MOD-IP/50 and the MOD-IP/100 interfaces are the latest additions to the range of MODBUS-compatible systems. The new interfaces allow connections for up to 100 indoor units and are smaller and cheaper than the previous models. They also provide additional internal register points allowing more functionality to be controlled and monitored from the one interface, making BEMS (Building Energy Management Systems) interfacing much more cost-effective for small through to larger and more complex applications.

The new BAC-HD/150 is another enhancement to the company’s BACnet-compatible line-up which allows monitoring of up to 150 indoor units. The new interface allows direct connection between BEMS and the Mitsubishi Network (M-NET), providing not only the most powerful but also the most simple to install interface between BACnet and air conditioning systems currently available.

With the addition of these new products Mitsubishi Electric maintains its unique position in the air conditioning marketplace with the majority of BEMS interfaces developed specifically for interfacing to the company’s equipment. Many of the BEMS interfaces offered by other manufacturers are available only as third party products which can cause problems if there are complex issues on site which need resolving.

Other BEMS interfaces available from Mitsubishi Electric link to LonWorks and Trend systems to ensure that the company’s air conditioning units can easily integrate and become part of any energy management system. Mitsubishi Electric has a wide range of controls available ‘off-the-shelf’ and where needed, individual control systems can be specifically designed to suit.

When an air conditioning system is not properly controlled, it will not run as efficiently as it should. For every degree that the system deviates from the required temperature, energy costs can rise by up to 5%.

“Good controls will benefit any application whether large or small,” explained Desmottes. “Air conditioning systems have to react quickly to a variety of factors, whether that is different room sizes, usage and staff levels, changes in the climate, different electronic equipment and lighting… the list goes on.

Whatever the application, maximising control of your air conditioning system will result in a constant, comfortable environment for the occupants, which is both energy and cost efficient for the end client,” ended Desmottes.

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